


girl wonder

by sun_summoning



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-21 09:12:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17639939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sun_summoning/pseuds/sun_summoning
Summary: Sabine finds out Marinette's secret.





	girl wonder

Sabine knows Marinette has been hiding something big for over a year now, but she never really expected this. Sometimes she hoped it was a boyfriend. Sometimes she hoped it was a girlfriend. Sometimes she considered that Marinette adopted a stray and was keeping it hidden away in her room and on the deck. Marinette focusing on a secret project, pouring every ounce of her energy into it, isn't a new phenomenon, so Sabine cannot fathom how she never really considered _this_. The kind girl giving her all to protect her city, to save everyone, her enemies included, to spread warmth and kindness -- how could that  _not_ be her daughter?

Tom is downstairs comforting the people taking refuge in their shop during this akuma attack. Sabine had gone upstairs to make sure their daughter was okay after being so quiet for the past hour. She didn't expect to find her stumbling through the trap door in the middle of a light show. Sabine meets Ladybug's startled eyes and when she blinks, she finds Marinette looking back at her.

Sabine knows she should speak first. She's the adult. She's the mother. She nearly chokes as she repeats to herself that she's the adult and that she's this girl's _mother_. She crosses the room in quick strides and pulls Marinette against her.

"Mama--"

Sabine just shakes her head, breathing heavily over speaking. One hand finds the back of Marinette's head, and she presses her to her chest. 

"My baby," Sabine chokes out. 

"Mama, I'm--" Marinette breaks away from her and Sabine scrambles for contact. She looks to the side and Sabine follows her gaze to find a little red creature hastily eating a few cookies. "I need to go soon, Mama."

" _Marinette_."

"Mama--"

"You're--you're _Ladybug_."

"Are you mad?"

Her voice is so small, so childlike, that Sabine struggles to put the mask back on her face, to consider that this is the superhero that fights a terrorist and his monsters without fear. Sabine almost laughs. Then she does laugh. How hysterical that the thing Ladybug is afraid of is her mother's opinion.

"I'm not mad," Sabine assures her. She cradles Marinette's face with gentle hands and pulls her down to press a kiss upon her forehead. "I'm just shocked," she admits, "and...terrified."

Marinette nods. She bites her lip and smartly says nothing about her experiences that might add to Sabine's fears.

Before she can say anything at all, the little red creature from earlier zips up to her side. 

"I'm ready, Marinette," it says, considering Sabine with a smile full of wisdom. 

"Right. I have to go back now, Mama. Everyone is waiting for me."

Sabine swallows thickly. "I know."

Marinette calls out for her transformation, and then Paris' beloved superhero is standing within Sabine's embrace. "You have to let me go now," Marinette says, gently pulling away. She flashes her the reassuring smile that Sabine has seen on the news countless times. "I'll be safe, I promise." She winks to try lightening the mood. "Chat Noir takes good care of me."

She walks over to the ladder and when her hand is on the trap door, Sabine finds her voice. "Marinette!" she calls. She doesn't say anything more, but her fear must be on her face because soon _Ladybug_ is back in front of her, her gloved hands on Sabine's arms. 

"It's going to be okay, Mama--"

"I'm proud of you. You're--this is you. You're a hero. _Paris_ ' hero. I love you so much and I am so, _so_ proud of you."

She's shaking, so Marinette guides her to her desk chair. Sabine sits and when Marinette tries to back away once more, she grabs her little girl's hand. Her mind races over the past year and she falters when she thinks of every time Marinette was scolded or wronged for every absence, every late appearance, every farfetched excuse she made for the sake of keeping everyone else safe. Her own guilt over her past frustrations with Marinette make her grimace.

"The world doesn't deserve you."

"Maybe not," Marinette considers. She steps out of Sabine's reach and towards Ladybug's duty. "But I'll save them all anyway."


End file.
